THE QUEST FOR BIAFRA AND THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS.

Many people have posited that Jesus never existed. For them who hold this belief say that Christianity was invented by man to deceive the gullible thereby control their minds. This belief is gaining ground among the Igbo youth who are at the vanguard for the political and economic freedom of Biafra. Judaism and Traditional religion are gaining ground among this group in Igbo society. This is because Christianity has been viewed as evil because those who brought Christianity to them, the Europeans are the masterminds of arming Muslims to kill Christians and subjugate them to orchestrated political and economic marginalization especially in Biafra . For me, this reasoning is very palpable vis-à-vis the taciturnity and criminal support by Britain to the killings of Biafrans during the Biafra war of 1967-1970, which is still ongoing.

However, there are historical evidences apart from the Book of the New Testament of the Bible that give accounts of Jesus. His coming into the world ushered in Christianity. The Roman historian Tacitus gave evidence about the existence of Jesus and that one evidence will suffice for this write-up. Tacitus was a Roman Senator and historian and in one of his works Annals(written ca. AD 116), Book 15, and Chapter 44. “The context of the passage is the six-day Great Fire of Rome that burned much of the city in AD 64 during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero. The passage is one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origin of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the canonical gospels, and the presence and persecution of Christians in 1ST-Century Rome. Scholars generally consider Tacitus’ reference to the execution of Jesus by Pontus Pilate to be both authentic, and of historical value as an independent Roman source. Paul Eddy and Gregory Boyd state that it is now “firmly established” that Tacitus provides a non-Christian confirmation of the crucifixion of Jesus.”

Yet, there are historical evidences about the Bible. The Bible was compiled with the writings of different authors and any text of the Bible which is considered Canonical (authoritative or accepted) depends on traditions and groups. A number of Bible Canons have evolved, with overlapping and divergent contents. The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible known in Judaism as the Tanakh. The New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, believed to be mostly Jewish Disciples of Christ, written in the first-century Koine Greek.

Christianity has nothing to do with man inhumanity to man. The people who choose to perpetrate evil for their selfish interest are agents of Satan. The political and economic policy of the colonialists in Africa and in Biafra as a text case is a total negation of the statutes of God because they want to perpetually exploit the people economically. The prophet Micah cries out against the political and religious leaders of his time: “You have been told, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice, to love mercy, and walk humbly with your God” Micah 6: 8.

There is every need for the Europeans to once again revisit the Berlin Conference of 1885, also known as Congo Conference or West Africa Conference and undo the European colonization and trade in Africa. This formalization for theScramble for Africa reordered cultural boundaries which is the major cause of wars in Africa today. The quest for Biafra independence is non-negotiable because the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorate in 1914 that gave birth to the nation Nigeria was not done with the consent of the people. Any conspiracy from any quarters to forestall the will of the people is against God. God in his infinite wisdom and mercy had always delivered the oppressed. Biafra freedom cannot and will not be intermingled with Christianity or any religion.